Mother/daughter duo share their wine expertise and passion at Cellar & Scholar

If you’re looking to expand your palate and your world, a visit to Cellar & Scholar in Spokane Valley might be just the ticket.

In December 2024, mother/daughter duo Cathy Hand and Justine Recor opened the wine bar and retail store in Sullivan Square on East Sprague.

Soft French blue walls surround comfy chairs, round tables and a long bar. A wall of vibrant prints, including the “Golden Girls” quartet, adds a bright spark, as do the unique lighting fixtures.

The welcoming interior invites guests to enjoy a glass or two of vino, share some small plates, and maybe even learn something.

Recor and Hand are certified sommeliers. Recor also has a diploma from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, while Hand is a diploma candidate with the organization.

Hand previously worked as a project manager in the tech industry, delivering deadlines most days.

“Now, I deliver wine to people,” she said. “I love it!”

Her aha wine moment came years ago, when she worked at Caterina Winery’s tasting room inside the historic Broadview Dairy building. It closed in 2014, but she’s never forgotten the sip that rocked her world.

“I tasted their cab sauv,” she recalled. “I thought, this feeds my soul. You can feel it when it happens.”

Recor has worked as a sommelier at Luna on the South Hill and at Beverly’s in Coeur d’Alene. The dream of sharing their knowledge and their love of hospitality with others motivated them to open Cellar & Scholar.

“As sommeliers, our only job is to give you what you like,” she said.

They delight in matching customers with sips that tickle their taste buds and their budgets.

When it came to choosing wines to showcase, they opted to focus on international producers who employ sustainable practices and create biodynamic wines produced without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

“We wanted to specialize in imports,” Recor said. “Tipsy Vine is down the street and specializes in Washington wines. We wanted to add to the wine scene in Spokane in a collaborative, not competitive way.”

Thus, guests can enjoy true champagne from the Champagne region of France or sip a Slovenian sparkling wine.

“A good glass of wine gives you a sense of the people and place that made it,” Recor said.

Wine flights offer the best way to experience vintners and varietals. For example, the $16 “Snap, Crackle, Pop, Crisp White” flight features Soalheiro of Alvarinho, Portugal (2022), Schoffit Riesling of Alsace, France (2021), and LL Wine Cellars of Gewurz, Washington (2022).

Though they don’t focus on Washington wines, they almost always have some available. All wines offered on the flights can be purchased by the glass or bottle.

You can even sample high-end wines thanks to Coravin technology. The Coravin Wine Preservation Opener pours wine without removing the cork.

“We can pour expensive wines without wasting it,” explained Recor. “We operate on a retail margin, not a restaurant margin, so there’s not a full mark-up.”

That budget-friendly philosophy translates to their wine club, too.

“Every bottle is hand-selected to each individual’s taste preference, budget and the number of bottles they’d like. We have a three-bottle-per-month minimum.”

Their food offerings aren’t just an afterthought.

“I like to eat a lot of different things when I go out – not just one big meal,” Recor said. “Our small plates are shareable and intended to pair nicely with the wine.”

In true family-business fashion, the bread is baked in-house by her mother-in-law.

“Our cheese board is the most popular, but the meatballs, smoked salmon and our feta chickpea dish are also popular.”

The onsite wine shop features 250 labels, from robust Italian reds to light Australian whites, and plenty of sparkling wines from across the globe.

“Thirty to 35 of those are on our tasting rotation,” Recor said.

Those looking to further their wine knowledge can sign up for one of the classes offered at Cellar & Scholar.

Beer lovers can sip, too.

“Bardic Brewing is next door, and they pour drafts in a to-go bottle for us,” she said.

A rotating selection of canned IPAs from YaYa Brewing is also available.

With their first few months behind them, the pair is still enthused by what they do.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” Recor said.

Her mom agreed and expressed thanks for the warm reception their business has received.

“We want people to be able to sip a great glass of wine without buying a $500 dinner,” Hand said. “A good amount of people come in and say, ‘Oh! This is what I was looking for.’ ”

Contact Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com.